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Six Leadership Lessons From the Crews on 'Deadliest Catch'

This article is by Michael Riegel, the managing director of Engineers Are People Too, which helps people at technical organizations develop soft skills.

The last few years have seen an explosion of reality TV shows that lay bare the seedy undersides of their participants’ personalities, and most of us go to work each day and recognize the characters we see on TV in our co-workers, bosses, and subordinates. My favorite of this genre is Deadliest Catch, with its competition among crab boat captains in the Bering Sea to see who can net the greatest number of crabs. Those hard-working, grizzled veterans of the ocean show us much about how to handle staff and create a productive work environment, whether in an office or on the deck of a crab boat. Here are six main lessons:

1. Provide timely feedback on job performance. The brevity of a crab season requires constant performance observation and feedback between captain and staff. A corporate setting wouldn’t generally support the language used on a crab boat, but the feedback is to the point, geared toward achieving the team’s goals, developing staff talent (think greenhorn to deck hand or business analyst to project manager), and promoting the team’s overall cohesiveness. Regardless of the captain, it is direct, timely, and forthright. Too often we hear from staff that annual performance evaluations aren’t helpful. They may be mandated and viewed as a burden, but above all they should be a continuation of feedback and evaluation that goes on throughout the year.

2. Set clear expectations. The deck of a crab boat is a dangerous place that requires a kind of ballet among the crew members, where each does his part and supports his crew mates. With defined roles, each knows explicitly—with nothing implied or left to chance or interpretation—what his job is, when he needs to do it, and how it is to be completed. Our own project teams should be just like that. The captain is the project manager and sets the team’s tone and direction. He is responsible for laying out everyone’s roles and responsibilities and hierarchy. Also, it is incumbent on the team members to understand and accept their roles and ask for clarification if there is any confusion.

3. Lead by example. The captains will come out of the wheelhouse at least once an episode to discuss what their crews are or aren’t doing correctly. Many are running family businesses that stretch back generations, and they learned by doing, after being shown by the veterans on the crew. Up-and-comers with advancement potential are invited to the wheelhouse for one-on-one instruction in navigation, positioning, and strategy. Too often, project managers never seem to find the time to offer the direction and instruction staff members need to grow and advance. Even worse, they frequently behave in ways that are counterproductive, communicating badly, providing confusing directions, and clouding the larger picture.

4. Be flexible and adapt. Most of us don’t have to contend with 35-foot seas, sub-zero temperatures, and massive ice floes in our work environments. In the Bering Sea, the captains and crews need to be prepared to change course at a moment’s notice and still maintain the workflow. We often forget about flexibility and adaptability when completing a project or managing our staff. How often have you heard a project manager say, “That’s not the way we planned it,” or struggle to make sense of a new client request or a previously unknown condition? It is precisely at such moments that a leader needs to take a step back, breathe deeply, assess the situation, and chart a new course. Like the captains, we need to consider the possible challenges we face, formulate strategies to deal with them (possibilities vs. probabilities), and have plans at the ready in case an ice floe—or worse—looms up on the horizon.

5. Develop a personal connection. We spend at least as much time at work with our co-workers, clients, and staff as we do with our families. On a crab boat, the crew lives and works in tight quarters for days on end, with little sleep, meager food breaks, and virtually no sleep. Despite the terrible conditions, the crew members come back year after year, and usually to the same boat and captain. True, they make significant money in a short time, but that isn’t why they don’t jump ship. They create personal connections, develop a familial environment, and when someone doesn’t mesh with the collective personality, that person often leaves voluntarily. It is harder to leave a company, to jump ship, if a true connection has been made with the other people you work with every day. Organizational behaviorists tell us that salary plays only a small part in overall work happiness. A greater factor in satisfaction and remaining with a company is liking the people you work with.

6. Work hard, play hard. There is no shortage of hard work on the deck of a crab boat, requiring a level of physical effort that would make most people crumble or cry. There is a lot of playing as well. Crew members tease one another mercilessly, play practical jokes on one another, and often develop healthy rivalries with the other boats in the fleet. The end of the season brings a fireworks display to mark their success, to recognize a job well done, and to allow the crew a final burst of relief after weeks and months at sea. Professionally, we have the work hard concept down cold. BlackBerry charged and e-mails flowing in and out, day, night, and weekends. Working into the evening on non-critical tasks. Calendars littered with conference calls and meetings that allow for no lunch. But don’t forget to bring a little fun back to your office or project team. Take them out for drinks after work every so often, and talk about anything but work. Bring in a speaker for a professional development opportunity. Arrange for a company outing to a ballgame. The behaviorists who talk about workplace happiness will tell you that job satisfaction is driven by a sense of appreciation.

Truth be told, I would never want to find myself on the deck of the Northwestern, Time Bandit, or Cornelia Marie in the middle of winter, with my family’s livelihood on the line. But I can live vicariously through their adventures and pick up a few management tips along the way. I invite you to tune in and see what resonates with your office or project team. It just might help you find smooth sailing.

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